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ISRAEL & WORLD metal militaria, insignia, badges and patches
A word about Israeli
militaria: with Israel being 60 years old this May (2008), while
much of Israel's militaria is "contemporary", and many items are available
for sale at surplus goods sites, the items offered here are neither new or
mint, nor deliberately unused surplus. We place great value on presenting
used Israeli militaria (in the best condition possible) in order to afford
the collector the opportunity to acquire pieces with significant
historical importance. It is our feeling that militaria which never had a
presence on the battlefield is (in most cases) militaria without
historical significance.
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Metal insignia badge of the Arab Legion, for headwear. This relatively heavy metal badge features a representation of the crown of the Hashemite Kingdom flanked by two crossed swords and the Arabic legend "Al Jeish al Arabi" (meaning: "The Arab Army" - popularly known in English as "The Arab Legion"). The reverse is incuse, exhibiting sharp detail. There is no maker mark. The fastening is composed of an original hook on the right and a soldiered replacement hooked piece of metal on the left. A lovely badge with surface wear but excellent detail - and a rich history. It would have been worn on the front of "Keffiyeh' cloth head-dress or on the front of peaked helmets (illustrations are provided).
The Arab Legion was born out of Trans-Jordan Reserve Mobile Force (formed by the British in 1920) in 1923 when it merged together with the Trans-Jordan civil police. Originally led by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Gerard Peake, the Arab Legion initially comprised around 1,100 men formed into infantry, cavalry, artillery, machine gun and signals units. Together with light British forces the Legion beat back an invasion from the area of what would become Saudi Arabia, in 1924. Tribal unrest in 1926 led to the creation of a separate force called the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force (TJFF), which drew part of its strength from the Legion, and was tasked with guarding the borders of the territory; the TJFF served both in areas of the Palestine Mandate (it was founded at Sarafand - today's "Tzrifin" IDF base), and included Moslem, Jewish and Circassian soldiers. The now-weakened Legion, unable to cope with tribal unrest, was bolstered by the subsequent creation of the mobile Desert Patrol in 1931 by Captain John Bagot Glubb. The Patrol took over operations in the desert areas from the TJFF, and the rest of the Legion - police and gendarmerie units - maintained order in urban areas. During that decade Glubb successfully pacified the various tribes, and by 1936 the Legion numbered 1,200 men.
Additional units were added to the Legion in response to the Arab Revolt in Palestine (1936-39) and civil disturbances in Syria - a "Reserve Combat Force" and a "Desert Mechanized Force". Glubb took over command of the Legion from Peake in 1939, and in 1940 the Mechanized Force was enlarged to battalion size and retitled the "Mechanized Regiment" of the Legion. During the War the Legion dispatched units to assist the British: the "1st Infantry Company" of the Legion guarded the Aqir aerodrome in Palestine; the Mechanized Regiment participated in Britain's re-conquest of Iraq (after the 1941 pro-Nazi coup by Rashid Ali) and also in the liberation of Syria from Vichy France, in 1941. The Mechanized Regiment distinguished itself so well that later in 1941 it was expanded into 3 regiments and turned into a brigade. Although well trained and equipped, circumstances and politics prevented the Legion from being employed more actively in Iraq, Persia, Normandy and Greece - as the British would have wanted. Nevertheless it maintained a guard presence in Palestine, Persia, Egypt, Trans-Jordan and Iraq and by the end of the war the Legion numbered 8,000 men.
With Trans-Jordan's independence in 1946, the British-led Legion became that Hashemite Kingdom's army. In 1948 the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force was disbanded with much of its strength joining the Legion, and the Legion distinguished itself as Israel's toughest Arab military adversary during the 1947-49 War of Independence: it successfully held the West Bank, captured the Jewish Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem (effectively keeping Israel out of East Jerusalem, including the Old City - until 1967), and maintaining control over Latrun - a strategic location on the road to Jerusalem (although Israel circumvented this thorn during the war with a make-shift route called the "Burma Road"); the Legion's presence there however did not prevent Israel from capturing Lydda (Lod) and Ramle - a significant israeli victory. The Arab Legion existed under Glubb's command until 1956 when he and other British officers were dismissed by the King, and the Legion became the Jordanian Army.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge, detail of badge back and pin, Arab Legion commander Major Abdullah Tell, wearing the insignia,
Arab Legion soldiers in spiked helmets with insignia
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Item Code: 0010200 Price: $75
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Bronze field cap badge of the [free] 1st Battalion Belgian Fusiliers in the United Kingdom. This unit was the first "free" Belgian Army unit to be created after the fall of Belgium in May 1940. The unit was raised in Tenby Wales, in October 1940 and later attached to the 36th British Infantry Brigade, from March 1941 until November 1941. When the 1st Battalion became operational in September 1942, it was came under the command of the 49th (West Riding) Division. In January 1943, the 1st Battalion was disbanded and integrated into the newly created 1st Belgian Independent Group.
This bronze badge is one of three 'ramping' Belgian lion emblems worn by the 1st Battalion - in this specific case, worn by officers; the others were in silver (worn by non-commissioned officers) or brass (privates). This emblem was instituted in October 1940 and worn at first on its own, on the left side of a field cap; in December of that year is was worn on top of a Belgian tri-color strip, and then on its own again, from May 1941 until the end of the war.
This badge is in excellent, preserved condition with light wear - and appears used. The reverse is scalloped, with some obverse detail incusions visible. There is one soldiered pronged hook at back and there appears to be signs of where a second - now missing - prong would have been. The badge is not maker-marked. Rare.
More pictures: front of emblem, scalloped reverse of badge
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Item Code: 0010037 Price: $200
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British Army cap badge for Jewish Chaplains ("Padres" of the Royal Army Chaplains Department), pre-1940. Made in white-metal, with bronze-colored hook; not maker-marked. In excellent condition.
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Item Code: 0010098 Price: SOLD
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British hat badge of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) of the British Army, 1941-45. The Womens' Auxiliary Territorial Service began in 1938 as an attachment of the Territorial Army, and after 1941 was one of four auxiliary services available for women to join. The duties of ATS servicewomen included manning radar stations and anti-aircraft gun emplacement; driving and vehicle maintenance; and ferrying aircraft from factories to airfields. In Palestine during the war, about 4,000 women served in the ATS and in the Womens' Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). The badge offered is in excellent, preserved condition - in brass - and is not maker-marked.
More pictures: front of emblem, back of emblem
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Item Code: 0010003 Price: SOLD
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German pith-helmet shield of the [Free] Indian Legion ("Azad Hind" - Free India). The decal sports a diagonally-striped tricolor of orange-white-green (from top left to bottom right). On the reverse side the badge has 3 thick, flat and bent-down 'pins' with slanted, sharpened ends, functioning as the hooks which would have held the badge in place on the helmet. The reverse side shows the imprint lines shield's borders and of the sections which on the reverse side form the borders of the tricolor pattern. The reverse is also maker-maked "K.W. 41" in raised letters (see close-up in link to pictures). The badge is physically in excellent condition, displaying no physical damage. However most of the color is missing, and to judge by the silver-gold-black discoloration of the surface, it seems to be the result of water damage and erosion.
Though it may be tempting to suggest that this piece is actually Italian, this conclusion would be incorrect because a) the Italian colors are green, white and red, and b) the Italian shield on helmets and armshields of that period are in the order: green-white-red (see Littlejohn, Foreign Legions Vol. 2, pg. 242-243).
The "Free Indian Legion" was founded in 1942 by Subhas Chandra Bose and consisted of Indian volunteers and prisoners of war; in June 1942 it was designated the Indisches Infanterie Regiment 950 / Legion Freies Indien of the German Army. It was initially deployed to the Netherlands and then to northern France, in 1943; numbering around 2,300 men now, in August 1944 it was transferred to the Waffen-SS and re-titled the "Indische Freiwilligen Legion der Waffen SS"; around the end of March 1945, the Legion was captured by Allied forces. During the course of its existence the unit was issued with the lightweight tropical German uniform (including all the associated tropical-style insignia on it), and wore a mixture of turbans, steel helmets (some, apparently with a shield-decal of the Indian national colors), and probably therefore also the tropical pith helmet from which comes this insignia. Rare.
More pictures: front of shield,
reverse side of shield
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Item Code: 0010008 Price: $400
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Israel - beautiful cap badge insignia of the Jewish Legion of the British Army, 1917-1919. This is the 'bell'-based (not straight sloping) variant of the badge, manufactured in the British style of all other cap badges (with a bent, flat slider on the reverse) but not maker-marked. In excellent condition. For the sake of accuracy, let it be noted that this insignia was designed for the Jewish Legion, appears on much Legion ephemera and promotional materials of the time, and to this day is the Legion's official emblem; nevertheless several sources say that in metal hat insignia form it was actually manufactured in 1919 and worn by a unit which grew out from the Legion, called the "First Judean Battalion".
Though it post-dated the Zion Mule Corps which fought in Gallipoli in 1915, the Legion was the first independent Jewish combat-dedicated force in almost 2,000 years. It comprised the 38th, 39th and 40th Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers of London, made up of Jewish volunteers from Britain, America and Canada, and Eretz Israel (Palestine) and numbered 5,000 men at its peak. The Legion fought in Palestine and the unit's membership included much of the future core of Israel's political and military leaders: Ben Gurion, Jabotinsky, Dov Hos, Ben-Zvi, Katznelson, Rutenberg and Golomb - among many others. The Legion also provided the seed of the Jewish community in Palestine's future armed services as well as Israel's future army.
The uniqueness of this badge is its singular Jewish motif: the 7 branched Menorah (candelabra) and Hebrew text (below the base, which reads "Kadima" - 'Forward'). Though manufactured in the British style, the Legion hat insignia completely lacks any symbolic reference to His Majesty's Army (like a Crown) or to Britain. The piece is in excellent condition with a lovely finish. Rare, and easily one of the most significant pieces of Israeli militaria.
More pictures: front of emblem,
back of emblem
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Item Code: 0010172 Price: SOLD
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Rare metal hat badge of the Palestine Regiment, 1943-45. The Regiment was a direct forerunner of the Jewish Infantry Brigade Group of September 1944. The Regiment was formed in 1943 from Jewish and Arab volunteers from Palestine (Eretz Israel), but drew much of its strength from existing formations of Palestinian soldiers, chiefly the companies of the East Kent Regiment ("The Buffs"). The Regiment served in Palestine, Cyrenaica and Egypt, mostly in guard duties, but represented to the Zionist movement an important milestone in the creation of a uniquely Palestinian / Jewish formation (Jews and Arabs served in separate battalions), and one of the key facets of the unit's identity was its badge: this badge is identical in design to the coins of the British Mandate in Palestine, with the name "Palestine" appearing (as it does on the coins) in English, Hebrew and Arabic (in Hebrew it says "Palestine E.I." - Eretz Israel).
The badge's design was a compromise in tastes for the Jewish and Arab volunteers, but was in use only briefly for the Regiment (for which it was nicknamed the "Five Piastre Regiment"). It was later worn by former Regiment members in one of the battalions of the Jewish Brigade - but it was not a badge unique to the Brigade. All such badges look more or less the same: crude in design, with lumpy and rough surfaces on the front and back; it is slightly curved; not maker marked, and with a thin, if flimsy slider. In all probability these badges were made for British Army orders but by local manufacturers in Palestine. This specific badge has a slider which is soldiered to the back - it is difficult to say if it's a replacement piece or not, but from other examples I've seen I consider it to be at least from the period in which the badge was worn. Physically the badge is unblemished, and has only traces of dirt.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge, angled reverse view of badge, side view showing badge curve and slider soldiering
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Item Code: 0120008 Price: SOLD
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Early Israeli Army metal cap badge, 1948-50. The badge is curved, and was worn on the army's first type of hat, the so-called 'Hitelmacher' hat (see item 0110004). There are two prongs on the reverse which would have held the badge to the hat. The badge also has a contoured piece of red velvet fastened to it - this gave the badge a more visible and ceremonial appearance on the hat. A fine piece of Israeli militaria - a rare instance of investment in solid metal insignia for the military, and a rare piece overall. Not maker-marked. In VF condition as most of the rough finish on the surface has been worn smooth - but also a sure sign of actual usage.
More pictures: front of emblem, back of emblem, back of IDF emblem with red backing removed
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Item Code: 0010115 Price: SOLD
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Israeli beret badge bearing the insignia of the IDF, 1950's. The emblem of the Israel Defence Forces became the insignia of the General Staff in the years after the War of Independence (1948-49), as other branches of the armed forces adopted their own unique banch insignia. This badge would have been worn by a soldier attached to the General Staff and fasted to a beret using a metal pin held by the two prongs on the reverse. Not maker-marked. Unfortunately the badge is bent in a few places and the Star of David frame and base of the sword have snapped.
More pictures: front of emblem, back of emblem
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Item Code: 0010116 Price: SOLD
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Old metal pin for the tank corps ("Kheyl Shiryon") of the Israeli Army (IDF), circa. 1940's-1950's. It's a detailed cut, but rudimentary in production, with tank details etched on the surface and a standard safety pin fastened on the back. Maker-marked with the Hebrew letter "Mem" ('M') on the reverse - probably for the firm "Michsaf", who produced many of Israel's early insignia. The design most closely resembles a Sherman M4 tank (with sloping front and shirt barrel on turret), which would date this pin to its estimated time-frame: somewhere after the 1948-49 War of Independence and the period just after the 1956 Sinai Campaign.
More pictures: front of pin, angled view of pin back, close up of maker's mark
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Item Code: 0010217 Price: SOLD
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Detailed metal pin of the 117th First Jet Squadron ("Ha'Silon Ha'Rishon" in Hebrew) of the Israel Air Force (IAF), circa. 1950's-60's. The Squadron was established in June 1953 and became the first in the IAF to fly jet aircraft - the British Meteor T.7 and F8. The Squadron partook in all the major combat engagements from that time onwards, including the 1981 raid on the Iraqi nuclear facility in Osirak. Based in Ramat David airbase, it now flies F16-C's. Solidly manufactured with a safety pin on the reverse.
More pictures: front of pin, back of pin
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Item Code: 0010218 Price: SOLD
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Metal pin of the "Nachal" brigade of the Israeli Army, circa. 1960's. The "Nachal" - "Fighting Pioneer Youth" - is the spiritual successor to the pre-State "Palmach" force, incorporating military training with Zionist-inspired land cultivation work; a prestigious formation with a glorious heritage in the IDF. The thick metal shield is diamond-shaped, bearing the emblem of the "Nachal" and has a safety pin on the reverse.
More pictures: front of pin, side-view of pin thickness and fastener, back of pin
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Item Code: 0010215 Price: SOLD
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Israel Defense Forces, Artillery Corps badge - Headpiece emblem of the Artillery Corps ("Kheil HaTotkhanim"), with red fabric-finished plastic backing and two loops side by side on the reverse, for mounting. The emblem is curved (hence the blurry lettering on the scan) and would have been worn on a beret or hat, circa 1960's-70s. Not maker-marked. In used but excellent condition.
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Item Code: 0020020.1 Price: SOLD
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Israel Defense Forces, Air Force badge - Headpiece emblem of the [Israel] Air Force ("Kheil Ha'Avir"), with two loops side by side on the reverse, for mounting. The emblem would have been worn on a beret or hat, circa 1970's. Not maker-marked. In excellent condition though the very tip of the right wing is curled back.
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Item Code: 0020020.2 Price: SOLD
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Israel Defense Forces, General Service Corps badge - Headpiece emblem of the General Service Corps ("Kheil HaClali"), with two loops side by side on the reverse, for mounting. The emblem is slighly curved (hence the blurry lettering on the scan) and would have been worn on a beret or hat, circa 1960's-70s. Not maker-marked. In used but excellent condition.
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Item Code: 0020020.3 Price: SOLD
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Israeli military dog tags, circa 1958-60. Set of 2 unifaced aluminum dog tags with the soldier's personal number on them. Judging by the style of the tags and the number (6 digits, around the 500,000 mark), these were probably issued towards the end of the 1950's.
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Item Code: 0020027.4 Price: SOLD
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[Jewish] metal cap badge of the Fire Brigade in the Palestine Mandate. The badge is nicely detailed, stamped curved metal piece stylized as 6-pointed star bearing the emblem of the fire and rescue services - a helmet superimposed on two crossed axes (the helmet bears a Star of David on its front). The reverse has a folded metal band soldiered to the badge and formed into a two-pronged 'pin'.
The fire rescue services of Israel find their origins in 1897, when, following a fire at his vineyards in Zichron Ya'akov, Baron Rothschild ordered the youth of the settlement to form a fire service. Fire prevention services [in the Jewish 'Yishuv' - community - of Palestine] were first officially created in Tel Aviv in 1925, on a volunteer basis, and then during the years until 1948 more volunteer fire brigades were raised in other Jewish cities and towns of the Mandate. In 1959 the Knesset formally established the guidelines for the organization and management of the country's fire services.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge
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Item Code: 0010201 Price: $50
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Cap badge of the Palestine Police, 1920's-40's. This is the silver-finished version of brass badge, with the long, flat hook on the back for insertion into a cap (in the standard British style of hat badge manufacture). This piece is not maker-maked. In excellent condition.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge
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Item Code: 0010009 Price: $75
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Cap badge of the Palestine Police, 1920's-40's. This is the black-finished lightweight metal badge, with two copper-colored prongs on either side of the badge at back (a pin would hook through them in order to attach the badge to a hat). This is a more uncommon version of the insignia badge and was probably used for night-duty. The piece is not maker-maked; well crafted and is in excellent condition.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge
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Item Code: 0010010 Price: $100
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Metal badge of the Polish Army's 20th (Krakow) Infantry Regiment, in silver/pewter color and purple enamel. This is a well manufactured piece, of thick curved metal and a screwback; features a diamond-shaped metal representation of Krakow Castle and the mountains behind, on a reverse-swastika shaped field bearing the infantry's designation in metal characters. The piece is maker-marked on the screw: "Z. Olszewski" of "Piwna 15, Warszawa". In excellent condition with no scratches or enamel damage (even though one of the pictures suggests scuffs to the enamel surface - that was a fingerprint caught by the camera's flash).
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge with screw removed, reverse of badge at angle, side-rear view showing curve and metal thickness
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Item Code: 0010221 Price: $100
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Norwegian Nation Union party rally badge - Rally Badge for the Nasjonal Samling's rally of 1-2 November 1941 in Oslo. The badge depicts in relief form the party's emblem on top (with the circle's background in red as per the emblem's design) with the date and location in sham-runic script at the bottom, with Akershus Castle, in black, in the background. The badge is shield-shaped with a border, and has a thin pin soldered on at the back. The NS suncross emblem has been stamped in from the back. Excellent condition though shows signs of aging and small chips of (black) paint now missing.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge
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Item Code: 0010001 Price: $125
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Norwegian 'Frontkjemper' (Front Fighters) badge in zinc. This rare badge was instituted by the Quisling government in October 1943 and issued to all Norwegian volunteers who saw active service on the eastern front, primarily in the ranks of the Norwegian Legion, Police companies, Norwegian Ski Battalion and the Grenadier-Regiment "Norge", all of the Waffen-SS. The badge was awarded in one 'silver' class, though two versions exist - one for male receipients (this example) and another for females. In the course of the war, zinc surplus, pattern and replacement pieces were manufactured and this piece in zinc appears to be a late-war issue of one of these types.
The badge is not maker-marked (the silver issues are stamped '830S'). Its surface on front and back is smooth, with no rough or unfinished edges, or seam-lines along the edge (i.e. there are no signs of counterfeiting). The reverse of the viking's shield is curved as it should be, and the hinge and safety-hook on the reverse are as they should, although the thin pin on the badge is clearly not the correct type. The pin may have been a replacement for the original, which would have been a broad and flat 'bar'. The number '132' is lightly scratched on the top-right segment of the frame on the reverse. A very nice piece in excellent condition.
More pictures: front of badge, front view at angle, front overview from angle, back of badge, close-up of pin catch, upper back of pin at angle, side view of rear pin hinge
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Item Code: 0010117 Price: $500
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'Kontroll Befal' - Control (police) Service badge of the Norwegian Labor Service ('Arbeids-tjenesten'), or the 'AT'. Similar to the trend in other German-occupied European countries, a national 'Labor Service' was established in September 1940 along the lines of the German State Labor Service (Reichs Arbeits Dienst - RAD) under the auspicies of the collaborating - Quisling - government. Though an unarmed body, the AT was organized and run along military lines: its members wore Norwegian military-styled uniforms and Finnmark hats, with military-styled insignia and even military campaign ribbons were worn. The AT had guards to protect its camps, and a special police service ('Kontroll Befal') helped keep order in the organization. This is a gilt broach / badge, featuring the AT's emblem in the center; in excellent condition and previously of the Col. Dodkins collection.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge
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Item Code: 0010118 Price: $450
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Norwegian 'Freedom March' pin, 1945. Issued to commemorate the country's liberation in May of that year. The badge has a scaloped back with an iron pin soldered to the rear. Not maker-marked.
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Item Code: 0010131 Price: $50
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